Renew my Strength

 

Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

~Isaiah 40:31 NRSV

I can find renewed strength as I wait for the Lord.

Ancient Paths

The Lord proclaims:  Stop at the crossroads and look around; ask for the ancient paths.  Where is the good way?  Then walk in it and find a resting place for yourselves.

~Jeremiah 6:16 CEB
  Though God's paths are ancient, they are also timeless.

Mine is the Sunlight

" Morning Has Broken"

(3rd Stanza)

Mine is the sunlight,
Mine is the morning,
Born of the one light
Eden saw play,
Praise with elation,
Praise every morning,
God's re-creation
Of the new day!

Sweet the Rain's New Fall

 

"Morning Has Broken"

(1st and 2nd Stanza)

Morning has broken
Like the first morning,
Blackbird has spoken
Like the first bird.
Praise for the singing!
Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing
Fresh from the Word!

Sweet the rain's new fall

Sunlit from Heaven,

Like the first dewfall

On the first grass.

Praise for the sweetness

Of the wet garden,

Sprung in completeness

Where his feet pass.

Bunessan

Bunessan is a Gaelic tune that was first published in Lachlan Macbean's Songs and Hymns of the Gael (1888) as a setting for Mary Macdonald's carol "Child in the Manger."  The tune is named after Macdonald's birthplace on the Isle of Mull, Scotland.

Child in the Manger

Author: Mary Macdonald (1789-1872)

Translator:  L. Macbean (1888)

Child in the manger,

Infant of Mary;

Outcast and stranger,

Lord of all;

Child who inherits

All our transgressions,

All our demerits

On Him fall.

Once the most holy

Child of Salvation

Gently and lowly

Lived below'

Now as our glorious

Mighty Redeemer,

See Him victorious

O'er each foe.

Prophets foretold Him

Infant of wonder;

Angels behold Him

On His throne;

Worthy our Savior

Of all our praises;

Happy forever

Are His own.

Morning has Broken

 

"Morning has broken" is the title of a Christian hymn first published in 1931.  It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, "Bunessan".  It was recorded by English pop musician and folk singer Cat Stevens in 1971.

Things that Cannot be Seen

 

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched-they must be felt with the heart."

~Helen Keller

A Snapshot Stops A Moment

" A good snapshot stops a moment from running away."

~Eudora Welty

Faith is the Bird that Feels the Light

 Faith,
is the bird
that feels the light
And sings
when the dawn
is still dark.

~Rabindranath Tagore

God Whispers to Us

 

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

~C.S. Lewis

I Believe

 

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

~C.S. Lewis

Courage, Dear Heart

 "Courage, Dear Heart."

~C.S. Lewis from The Voyage of The Dawn Treader

Peace in the Storm

 

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  Though the rain comes in torrent's and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock.

~Matthew 7:24-25

My Hope is in You

 

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior; and my hope is in you.

~Psalm 25:5 NIV

The Blessing of Tears

 

The psalmist said, 

"You number my wanderings; 

Put my tears into Your bottle; 

Are they not in Your book?

When I cry out to You, 

Then my enemies will turn back; 

This I know, because God is for me.

In God (I will praise His word),

In the Lord (I will praise His word),

In God I have put my trust;

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?"

~Psalm 56:8-9-11

"When we have walked through pain and grief, we may be the only ones able to see clearly another person walking the same path -- and there our tears can meet.  Truly, tears can be God's blessing for this life."  ~Eleanor Cowles (Upper Room)

"Remain in My Love"

 

Jesus said, "As the Father loved me, I too have loved you.  Remain in my love."

~John 15:9 CEB

"Do Not be Afraid"

 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  ~Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV

Prayer:  Loving God, thank you for carrying and holding us.  When we have fallen, when we are broken, when we can no longer move you call, "Do Not be afraid."  In every situation of our lives help us to res in you.  Amen

~Steven Scheid (Upper Room)

Where Has the Light Gone?

 

"Where?  Where has it gone, that light, that spark, that love that looked into mine?  What has it to do with that cold clay?  It's here, here, here in my heart.  She's in me, around me.  Nothing in that clay."

~Anzia Yezierska

Faith Not Fear

 Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

~Joshua 1:9 NIV

The Earth is My Sister

 

The earth is my sister.  I love her daily grace, her silent daring, and how loved I am.  How we admire the strength in each other,  all that we have lost, all that we have suffered, all that we know.  We are stunned by this beauty, and I do not forget, what she is to me, what I am to her.

~Susan Griffith

Lifting Away Sorrow

 It is the person, whom we want, not the grief.  "May I hold my grief lightly in my hand so it can lift away from me.  My connection to the one I have lost is inviolate; it cannot be broken,"

~Martha Hickman

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

 Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.

~Emily Dickinson

Love Many Things

 The best way to know God is to love many things.

~Vincent Van Gogh

Rhythmic Moments

 The little crab hiding at the foot of a tree.  Rhythmic moments of a walk in June 2012 captures a wonderful moment.  

Filling the Empty Space

 In filling the empty space from the love one I have lost, Life has giving me an opportunity to share the artistic and creative work of Crystal's color pencil drawings and coloring.  I now have a card ministry called "Crystal Expressions" which is a collection of her artwork used in handcrafted cards.  I use Crystal's art to bring smiles to seniors, hospitalized kids, foster children and those who are lonely, isolated and suffering.  These cards were mailed to "Small Acts Big Change" to be distributed to nursing homes and assistant living facilities.  The spirit of Crystal's art lives on and is enjoyed by the elderly and children across the United States, Canada, Scotland, Holland, Germany, France and England.  These are the places where her art has been shared to bring encouragement and a smile.

Little Girl on the Swing

 Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries.

~Corita Kent

photograph Crystal Michelle Fallin, age 3, Palm Coast, Florida 1987

The Binding Thread of Grief

 

When my daughter departed this earth everything brushed against the raw wounds of my grief, reminding me of Crystal.  A tilt of the head, a laugh, fragrance of candles, the beach, walking the neighborhood, places where she ate, attended daycare, schools, playgrounds, the Nutcracker Ballet, and the list goes on.  Even drawings of children who resemble her attracts my attention.  It often brings tears to my eyes and sometimes it's difficult to bear but I also can't let them go.  These binding threads of grief is gradually, bit by bit, becoming gifts of loving memories that can never be taken away.  So there is hope where loving memories can also bring smiles.  The binding thread of grief also brings treasures.  Crystal's artwork lifts my spirit and I use it to bring smiles to the lonely, isolated and elderly through non profit groups The Angel Card Project and Kind Cards for Cool Kids.  I used her artwork and added graphics and text for Valentines and mailed the cards to 100 people around the country.

A New Day will come

 

"May I honor --and trust--the processes of grief and of healing, knowing that  in time, a new day will come."

~Martha W. Hickman

Looking for a Butterfly in the Winter Woods

 "No moment is ever free of the life history that has preceded it" (Martha W. Hickman). The fear of losing the memory of a love one we have lost will never happen, but there is hope for the broken hearted.  We can lose, or be released, from the overhanging cloud of gloom.  I for one am looking for that Butterfly in the winter woods.  I want to be able to see it!  As a loving tribute to my daughter Crystal, I will walk out from under this cloud so I can see the beauty of life around me.  She would want that.

"They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods."

~Edith Wharton

Shadows of Grief

 

Crystal's friends held a memorial service for her on the banks of the Matanzas River at Helen Melton Schmidt Park located at Summer Island.    It's off the the beaten path, just the way Crystal would  have liked. They held the service in a small cove on the river bank.  They lit a sky lantern and release it into the clouds and it floated over the river and high above the horizon.  They threw flowers into the river.in her memory.  Every time we drive by the park, we think of her life's celebration by her friends but it is also brings out the shadows of grief that reminds us she is gone.  Grief is always in the shadows.

Let Your Light Shine

 

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds nd glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16 NIV

A Well-watered Garden

 

The Lord will guide you always;

he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

and will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden
like a spring whose waters never fail.

Isaiah 58:11 NIV

Voice of the Seas

Your throne was established long ago;

you are from all eternity.

The seas have lifted up, Lord,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea --
the Lord on high is mighty.

~Psalm 93:2-4  NIV

On Things Above

 

 

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Colossians 3:2

Trust An Unknown Future

 

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."

~Corrie Ten Boom

A Part of My Life ~ Always!

I ran across some pictures today that I have not seen in a long time.  My baby girl was so beautiful inside and out.  This was a trip to Colorado Springs.  We visited the Old Town of Colorado Springs.  I miss her every minute of every day.  As time goes back my love for my daughter has grown just as much as if she were still living here on earth.  She is as much a part of my life today "as the air that I breathe and the food and water that nourish  my body.  Therefore I shall not fear losing someone who has been, and is, a part of me."  She's a part of my life ~ Always.

"I Am Here"

"God is Always Seeking You.  Every Sunset.  Every Clear Blue sky.  Each Ocean Wave.  The Starry Hosts of Night.  He Blankets Each New Day with the Invitation. 'I Am Here.'"

~Louie Giglio